A member of the House of Representatives, Abdussamad Dasuki, has raised the alarm over alleged alterations in the tax bills passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, describing the situation as a serious breach of the Constitution.
Dasuki made the allegation during plenary on Tuesday, December 17, while speaking under a matter of privilege. He claimed that clauses contained in the gazetted copy of the newly enacted tax laws currently in circulation differ from the harmonised version passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.
According to him, a careful review of the gazetted documents revealed discrepancies that do not reflect what lawmakers approved on the floor of the chambers.
“I’m here today because my privilege has been breached as a member of this all-important House. We passed the tax laws on this floor. I took my time in the last three days to look at the gazetted copy,” Dasuki said.
He explained that he went further to examine the votes and proceedings of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, noting that the harmonised version agreed upon by both chambers does not align with what has been officially gazetted.
“What was passed on this floor is not what is gazetted. I was here, I gave my vote, and it was counted, and I’m seeing something completely different,” he added.
Dasuki expressed concern that the version being presented to Nigerians through the Ministry of Information does not reflect the laws duly passed by the National Assembly.
He described the development as a constitutional breach and urged the House to urgently revisit the matter.
“I plead that all the documents should be brought before the Committee of the Whole so that we can make the relevant amendments. This is a breach of the Constitution and our laws, and this should not be taken lightly by this Honourable House,” he said.
In response, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, assured lawmakers that the issue would be thoroughly examined and addressed in the overall interest of the nation.
A member of the House Representatives Hon. Abdulsammad Dasuki (PDP-Sokoto) has now stated it publicly for the whole country to know that the gazetted tax reform laws signed by Tinubu is different from the version passed by the National Assembly.
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